School Board Settles Claim of Religious Bias In Guidance Counselor Dismissal

Five Towns Patch reported Friday that the Lawrence, New York School District has settled for $145,000 a lawsuit brought by a former school guidance counselor who claimed that he was denied tenure and fired from his $140,000 per year job because school board members, most of whom are Orthodox Jews, thought plaintiff was anti-Orthodox. Based on the settlement, the federal case was closed on June 19. Plaintiff Jay Silverstein, who is Jewish but non-practicing, claimed his dismissal was part of the ongoing tension between Orthodox Jews who took control of the Lawrence school board in 2006 and the community's non-Orthodox residents. (See prior posting.)